[Anchor]
Former Rebuilding Korea Party leader Cho Kuk has been voicing criticism regarding the issue of withdrawing the indictment in President Lee Jae-myung's case and the proposed tax revisions. In response, the Democratic Party has reacted sharply, calling it "ungrateful."
Reporter Kim Kwan-jin has the details.
[Reporter]
Cho Kuk, director of the Rebuilding Korea Party's Innovation Policy Research Institute, posted on social media today (September 2) targeting the revised tax reform plan—which restores the basic deduction for non-resident single-home owners to 1.2 billion won—criticizing that "the Democratic Party has claimed to be a party for the middle class and ordinary citizens, but with this decision, it has protected the interests of the top 1%."
Yesterday, he pointed out that "if they push forward with withdrawing the indictment against President Lee Jae-myung without verifying whether it was a fabricated prosecution, they could face political and legal setbacks," striking sensitive chords for the ruling bloc day after day.
Within the Democratic Party, fierce reactions poured out, such as calling it "completely out of left field."
[Park Sun-won / Democratic Party Supreme Council Member: This cannot be the language of a comrade. What is it that you are so bitter about? We cannot help but call this ungrateful.]
Director Cho fought back by posting another message on social media reading, "Loyal advice sounds harsh to the ear, but it is beneficial."
Within the Democratic Party, the issue of unifying the broader ruling bloc has also been discussed since the inauguration of Party Leader Kim Min-seok, and when Representative Park Beom-kye, head of the Democratic Party's Grand Integration Promotion Committee, made such remarks:
[Park Beom-kye / Democratic Party Representative (YouTube program 'Kim Ou-joon's Humble News Factory'): Representative Lee Hae-shik and, well, the current Secretary-General of the Rebuilding Korea Party is Representative Jung Chun-sheng. We are discussing this at a working-level with her.]
Rebuilding Korea Party Secretary-General Jung Chun-sheng did not hide her displeasure, stating, "We have never had any such conversations."
Director Cho stated that back in January, when then-Democratic Party Leader Chung Chung-rae declared the merger of the Democratic Party and the Rebuilding Korea Party, the pro-Lee Jae-myung faction attacked him.
[Cho Kuk / Director of the Rebuilding Korea Party's Innovation Policy Research Institute: They attacked me with a complete falsehood that Representative Chung Chung-rae and I had a secret agreement where he would take party power and I would take presidential power. The person who made those remarks has never apologized.]
Once calling each other "friendly parties," the two parties are noticeably drifting apart amid tug-of-wars over a potential merger and competition for party leadership within the Democratic Party, according to analysts.
(Video reporting: Oh Young-chun, Kim Yong-woo | Video editing: Won Hyung-hee | Design: Park Chun-woong)
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